Kinect

This week the folks responsible for upgrading the Xbox One’s features have let it be known that there will soon be a real-deal screenshot ability. Where "Xbox, Capture That" already allows you to capture video from the device, soon you’ll be finding the ability to capture the display as a single, still shot as well.

If you have a game that’s so extremely important to the future of your developer group that it’ll make or break said group, you might be Rare. This week it’s being suggested that in light of the less-than-stellar sales of Kinect Sports Rivals, its developers are having to change their game plan.

It’s all over. Microsoft’s Kinect, which has improved greatly since its launch on the Xbox 360, is officially on a death march that won’t slow down.

Microsoft announced recently that in order to bring its console price down, it will soon start selling the Xbox One without a Kinect. The new price tag for the bundle -- $399 – will certainly attract those who have been turned off by the $499 price, but is it really in the best interests of Microsoft?

Today the Xbox One without Kinect has been announced, throwing massive numbers of gamers for a loop. Up until today, very few suspected that Microsoft would ever release their Xbox One game console without Kinect - today everything changes. Today the Kinect may or may not have just been doused in doubt.

It would appear that Microsoft is preparing to take on the gaming market with the Xbox One without their motion-detecting Kinect. This is a bit of a surprise move, as previous to today it was generally accepted as hard-and-fast fact that the Kinect would always be delivered with the console. With this package, the console will cost a cool $399.

Microsoft has given its IllumiRoom concept a makeover, with the immersive projected gaming experience evolving to deliver interactive web content that fills the living room and engages with Xbox One, Windows Phone, and Windows. Dubbed Microsoft SurroundWeb, the concept relies on the same approach of using projectors to cast digital graphics onto the surfaces of real-world objects, like the wall surrounding a TV or the coffee table in front of it, which then react to the user within that space.

In what we’re considering the first "wow" moment in Xbox One’s Kinect environment, Kinect Sports Rivals arrives this week to scan you in. In this game you, the user, are asked to be scanned by the machine, creating a real sports "Champion" in your own image. The level of accuracy we’re seeing here is astounding.

Kinect Sports Rivals takes Kinect seriously, in a way that no game for the Xbox One yet has. It’s absurd that the Xbox One’s Kinect hadn’t been utilized to the extent that Sports Rivals makes use of it now. Here the developers at Rare and the teams responsible for this game at Microsoft Studios give the platform a good kick in the pants.

When you have a product like Kinect, so closely associated with gaming, how do you convince everybody else that they should be installing a motion-tracking camera in the home? Microsoft is looking to smart home technology and health, among other things, to do just that with Kinect for Windows v2, though a stealthy spread through Cortana and smartphones may be just as vital. We caught up with Microsoft’s Michael Mott, general manager of Xbox applications and developer relations, to find out how virtual assistants and home automation could make Kinect-tech the next must-have.

At BUILD 2014, Microsoft has laid the groundwork for some future products and services, most of which are coming relatively soon. One that may not be hitting us in the next month or two is the next version of Kinect. The new Kinect will bring many new features to the fold, and could signal a new way we’ll interact with our PCs.